The Bait

After a while, Hoa Van Phong lowered his head and looked at the cup of tea in his hands before speaking slowly.

"After Duong Quang sided with the Heavenly Eye, some of the tribesmen refused to follow him. My father told Linh Nhi and me to stay with those who still wanted to preserve the old path of the Fire Qilin Tribe. But not long ago, my father and several of the older men went out to hunt beasts and were ambushed. Only two of the people with them managed to return wounded, while my father..."

His voice caught. Several breaths passed before Hoa Van Phong could continue.

"He never came back."

His fingers tightened around the teacup until his fingertips gradually turned white.

"After my father's death, life became even harder for our group. We lacked spirit stones and pills, so some people had to secretly enter the Forward City to work as porters, build walls, or take other heavy jobs in exchange for resources to bring back. My body has never been as strong as the others, so I can't handle heavy labor for long. I mainly purchase medicinal materials and treat simple injuries for the people in our group."

He paused, his breathing growing heavier.

"Yesterday, I went to the black market looking for several medicinal ingredients to treat injuries. When I passed the prisoner trading area, I saw Linh Nhi tied up, drugged, and being priced like merchandise."

Hoa Van Phong closed his eyes. His shoulders trembled slightly, but he forced his voice to remain steady.

"I didn't have the fifty mid-grade spirit stones needed to ransom her. All I could do was tell them that we were both from the Fire Qilin Tribe, that Duong Quang was also born into the Fire Qilin Tribe, and that he was about to come to the Forward City as City Lord with the Heavenly Eye backing him. I hoped the slave traders would at least hesitate before openly selling someone from the same tribe as the future City Lord."

A bitter smile passed across his face.

"But they weren't afraid. They even beat me, so in the end..."

Hoa Van Phong lowered his head further.

"I killed that man."

Hao Nhien listened in silence until he finished. He did not rush to judge what the young man had done in the black market. He simply reached out and lightly patted his shoulder.

"You didn't abandon your younger sister. There's nothing wrong with that. We'll deal with the rest later."

Hoa Van Phong raised his head. His eyes were still red, but a trace of relief had appeared within them.

"Thank you..."

At that point, he studied Hao Nhien more carefully, then looked toward Lanh Hoa. His gratitude remained, but beneath it was now a clear mixture of suspicion and hope.

"Are the two of you... also from the Fire Qilin Tribe? Why have I never seen you before?"

Lanh Hoa set down his teacup.

"I am Lanh Hoa. I left the Fire Qilin Tribe and went east many years ago. You were still young when I left. It's normal that you don't know me."

Hoa Van Phong froze.

"Lanh Hoa..."

He stared at the middle-aged man for several breaths before his expression changed.

"Are you Uncle Lanh Hoa?"

Lanh Hoa did not answer immediately.

"Is your father Hoa Van Son?"

Hoa Van Phong shot to his feet.

"Yes. Hoa Van Son is my father."

Lanh Hoa looked at him for a moment before asking:

"Your father has a scar on his left shoulder running from his collarbone down toward his chest. A Fire Armored Wolf gave him that wound when he was young. Did he ever tell you about it?"

Hoa Van Phong went still.

"Yes. My father told me that story."

Only then did Lanh Hoa's gaze change.

"Then there's no mistake."

He fell silent for a moment, a trace of memory appearing in his eyes.

"Your father and I were once on good terms. Before I left the tribe, I asked if he wanted to come with me. He refused and said there were still people in the tribe he had to protect."

Lanh Hoa looked at Hoa Van Phong.

"I never expected Van Son to be gone."

His voice had grown noticeably lower.

After a while, he turned toward Hao Nhien before speaking to Hoa Van Phong again.

"This is Young Master Hao Nhien. For now, that is enough for you to know. I returned to the Western Wastes with Young Master precisely to find the Fire Qilin people who still refuse to bow to Duong Quang and the Heavenly Eye."

Hoa Van Phong looked at Hao Nhien. The suspicion in his eyes was quickly replaced by surprise, then by a spark of hope he could not hide.

"If you truly are looking for Fire Qilin people who refuse to follow Duong Quang, then please let me help. I'm not strong, but I know some of the places where the others used to hide, and I also know several people working inside the Forward City."

Hao Nhien did not accept immediately. He only pushed the teacup in front of Hoa Van Phong closer to him.

"Drink first. You just fought and then ran all this way. We can discuss everything else after you've recovered some strength."

Hoa Van Phong paused, then nodded and picked up the cup.

Hao Nhien set down his own cup as well.

"We'll probably need to wait until Linh Nhi wakes before asking more about the current situation of the Fire Qilin Tribe. But right now, we have another problem."

Hoa Van Phong looked up.

"What happened in the black market was not minor. Linh Nhi was the missing captive, and you were the one who killed someone. The Heavenly Eye will definitely investigate. If we try to leave the city now, the gates have probably already tightened their inspections."

Lanh Hoa spoke in a low voice.

"If we need a distraction, I can create some trouble elsewhere."

Hao Nhien shook his head.

"Not yet. Causing trouble now will only make them tighten control over the entire city. Wait until Luu Thanh returns. He's been moving around the city for two days. He'll know which areas are checked less often."

He turned toward Hoa Van Phong.

"Go check on Linh Nhi. If she wakes, tell me immediately. Also gather anything that might reveal the two of you were here."

Hoa Van Phong immediately stood.

"Understood."

He had just turned toward the room when a rapid series of knocks sounded from the courtyard gate.

Hao Nhien and Lanh Hoa looked toward it at the same time.

Lanh Hoa rose, one hand resting near the hilt of the sword beneath his cloak, then walked over and opened the gate only slightly. After seeing who was outside, he opened it wider.

Luu Thanh quickly slipped into the courtyard. His cloak was covered in dust, and sweat still clung to his forehead.

"The situation isn't good."

He closed the gate as soon as he entered.

"The Heavenly Eye is searching hard. Word has already spread that a Fire Qilin female slave disappeared and that a Fire Qilin young man killed someone. They're checking the southern district constantly, and the black market is being searched as well. They've also increased the guards at the city gates."

Hao Nhien showed no surprise.

"Did anyone follow you?"

"No. I circled through three markets and changed my cloak once before coming back."

Luu Thanh paused before continuing.

"There's something else. They're comparing entry tokens against the records of people renting short-term lodging inside the city. A private courtyard in the northern district like this one will definitely be checked soon."

Hao Nhien's gaze darkened slightly. That was the missing link.

"Then we need to move."

Only after finishing did Luu Thanh notice Hoa Van Phong standing near the door to the room on the left. His gaze paused briefly before shifting toward Hao Nhien.

"Young Master, this is...?"

"Fire Qilin."

Hao Nhien answered simply.

"Lanh Hoa and I encountered the two siblings in the black market. His younger sister was drugged by slave traders and is resting inside."

Luu Thanh immediately understood the rest.

"How is she?"

"She's already taken an antidote pill. Her aura has stabilized, but she still hasn't woken."

Luu Thanh looked toward the room on the left.

"Let me take a look. I've encountered quite a few drugs used to control people during my years in the Western Wastes."

Hao Nhien nodded.

Luu Thanh entered the room with Hoa Van Phong while Hao Nhien and Lanh Hoa waited outside.

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Luu Thanh was not an alchemist or healer, but he had enough experience to tell whether someone's condition was improving or getting worse. He checked Hoa Linh Nhi's breathing, complexion, and spiritual power fluctuations, then used only a very small amount of spiritual power to help the blood and qi in her arm circulate more smoothly.

After a while, Hoa Linh Nhi's eyelashes trembled.

A very faint groan escaped her lips before she slowly opened her eyes.

Her gaze was unfocused at first. Several breaths passed before she recognized the person holding her hand.

"Brother..."

Hoa Van Phong immediately bent closer.

"Linh Nhi, I'm here. You're safe now."

Hoa Linh Nhi looked at him, then at Luu Thanh, and finally toward Hao Nhien and Lanh Hoa standing near the doorway.

Hoa Van Phong quickly explained a few things about what had happened in the black market.

Tears rose in her eyes again, but she wiped them away and tried to push herself upright.

"Thank you all for saving me."

Her voice was still hoarse.

Hao Nhien looked at her.

"Can you walk?"

Hoa Linh Nhi tried putting her feet on the floor. Her knees trembled slightly, but with Hoa Van Phong supporting one side, she managed to stand.

Luu Thanh said:

"Most of the drug's effect has faded. She's still weak, but if we're only moving through the city and she doesn't have to run for long, she should manage."

Hao Nhien nodded.

"Then we change locations first. We won't leave the city yet."

He looked at everyone.

"Pack only what we need. We leave within the time it takes an incense stick to burn."

Luu Thanh immediately said:

"I know an area that's checked less often. There's an auxiliary forging district run by the Sandfire Tribe in the south. It's full of dust, smoke, and people moving in and out all day. It's also close to the southern wall. If we need somewhere to hide for a few days, it'll be better than this courtyard."

"Lead the way."

Hao Nhien turned toward Hoa Van Phong and Hoa Linh Nhi.

"From now on, the two of you are not Fire Qilin siblings. You're members of a small merchant caravan that was scattered by the sandstorm, and we hired you afterward as helpers. Don't talk too much, don't stare at Heavenly Eye soldiers, and above all, don't react when you hear Duong Quang's name."

Hoa Van Phong nodded.

"Understood."

Hoa Linh Nhi also gave a slight nod.

Hao Nhien handed her a scarf.

"Cover your face. Stay in the middle of the group."

Luu Thanh gathered the notes they still needed and burned the rest. Lanh Hoa checked the gate and the exit routes, while Hoa Van Phong helped his sister change cloaks and cover her face. Hao Nhien collected anything that could directly connect the siblings to the courtyard, then checked the room one last time.

Before an incense stick had fully burned, the five had left.

They did not walk in a tight formation. Luu Thanh went some distance ahead, Hoa Van Phong supported Hoa Linh Nhi in the middle, while Hao Nhien and Lanh Hoa followed behind.

Heavenly Eye Forward City remained as noisy as ever. Beast carts still rolled along the streets, workers continued carrying stone, and merchants still shouted prices beneath the desert sun.

No one paid much attention to five dusty figures leaving the northern district.

After nearly one shichen of taking indirect routes through different streets, the group finally reached the poorer southern district.

This area was far more cramped and chaotic than the northern quarter. The roads were narrow, dust covered everything, and most buildings had been put together from broken sandstone, old timber, and faded canvas. Smoke from forges mixed with the smells of burning oil and hot metal, making the air heavy but also chaotic enough for strangers to disappear easily into the crowds.

Luu Thanh led them to a small inn behind the auxiliary forging district.

The inn was nothing more than an old two-story wooden building. The stairs creaked, the walls were cracked in several places, but the thin old woman sitting behind the counter clearly cared more about spirit stones than faces.

Luu Thanh placed five mid-grade spirit stones on the table.

"One large room upstairs. One day."

The old woman swept the stones into her hand so quickly that she barely seemed to count them, then tossed him a key.

"Upstairs. Don't fight in the room, and don't die in it either. If you want to die, do it outside."

The corner of Luu Thanh's mouth twitched.

"This inn certainly has rules."

Hao Nhien said nothing and led the others upstairs.

The large room was extremely simple, with only three low bamboo beds, a small wooden table, and a window overlooking the dark alley behind the building. But it was private enough, and no one cared about a dusty group of travelers renting a temporary room in the forging district.

Lanh Hoa checked the window and the rear exit. Luu Thanh placed a simple warning talisman near the door. Hoa Van Phong helped his sister sit on one of the beds.

Once everyone had settled, Hao Nhien pulled a chair beside the table and looked at Hoa Linh Nhi.

"Now you can tell us. Explain the current situation of your group and how you were captured."

Hoa Linh Nhi leaned against the head of the bed. Her face was still pale, but her eyes were much clearer than before.

"Most of the able-bodied men in our group came to the Forward City several months ago. They work construction, carry stone, or dig foundations in exchange for spirit stones and dried food to bring back. The people left at our shelter are mostly the elderly, children, some women, and a few wounded people. Altogether, there are fewer than a hundred of us."

She paused and took a sip of water Hoa Van Phong handed her before continuing.

"Seven days ago, a group of around twenty bandits attacked without warning. Most of the people capable of fighting were away. They captured the younger women, beat anyone who tried to stop them, and killed several of the elderly on the spot."

Her voice began to tremble.

"I hid inside a water storage cellar, but they still found me. Afterward, they divided the captives into several groups and took us in different directions to sell. My group was brought to the Forward City."

Hoa Van Phong sat beside her, his face pale.

Hoa Linh Nhi lowered her head.

"On the way, I heard them say some of the others would be taken elsewhere. After we arrived here, many people were sold very quickly. They kept me because the slave traders thought they could get a higher price."

The room fell quiet except for the steady rhythm of hammering from the nearby forges.

Lanh Hoa clenched his hand, but in the end his aura remained under control.

Hao Nhien looked at him.

"Is it common in the Western Wastes for weaker groups to have people taken like this?"

Lanh Hoa remained silent for a while before answering.

"It's not rare. When a tribe weakens or too many able-bodied men leave, bandits and slave traders notice quickly. During wars between tribes, people from the losing side can also be taken prisoner or sold. The Western Wastes are too vast. In many places, no one governs anything."

His voice lowered.

"That's part of the old law of this land."

Hao Nhien did not look surprised. The cultivation world had never been clean. Different regions simply had different forms of cruelty.

After a moment, he asked:

"Duong Quang is about to come here as City Lord. No matter how he claims the right to lead the Fire Qilin Tribe, he was still raised as a Fire Qilin tribesman. If word spreads that members of his own tribe are being openly sold as slaves inside the Forward City, what will the Fire Qilin people following him think?"

Lanh Hoa frowned.

"At the very least, for the sake of appearances, he wouldn't want news like that spreading."

"That's what I think as well."

Hao Nhien looked at Hoa Van Phong.

"For now, we can't conclude that Duong Quang directly ordered the bandits to capture people or told the slave traders to sell you."

Hao Nhien continued.

"He may not know. Or the Heavenly Eye may know and deliberately ignore it. Either way, the result has one thing in common."

He looked at Lanh Hoa.

"If the Fire Qilin people who still oppose him learn that their relatives have been captured and taken to the black market to be sold, can they really remain hidden?"

The room fell silent.

Hoa Van Phong gradually understood, and his expression darkened.

Lanh Hoa said in a low voice:

"At least some of them won't be able to endure it. They'll come out."

Hao Nhien nodded.

"We did exactly that today."

He did not claim that everything had been deliberately arranged. There was not enough evidence to prove it.

But if the Heavenly Eye truly knew Fire Qilin captives were being sold and still chose to ignore it, then the black market had naturally become a trap. The more loyalty and affection the remaining Fire Qilin people had for one another, the easier it would be to force them into revealing themselves.

Hoa Linh Nhi lowered her head.

"If not for me, my brother wouldn't have had to kill anyone, and all of you wouldn't be hunted now..."

Hao Nhien looked at her.

"If it wasn't you, it would have been someone else. What matters isn't who made us act today. What matters is why the weakened Fire Qilin people have been pushed this far."

Hoa Linh Nhi fell silent. Hoa Van Phong placed a hand on his sister's shoulder.

After a while, Hao Nhien asked:

"Is there anything about the remaining people that Duong Quang would have reason to fear?"

Hoa Van Phong looked surprised.

"What do you mean?"

"Your group has fewer than a hundred people left. Most are elderly, children, or people who have to sneak into the city to work. That force alone isn't enough to threaten someone who is about to become City Lord with the Heavenly Eye behind him."

Lanh Hoa also fell into thought.

Hoa Van Phong suddenly raised his head.

"There's something my father once told me."

Everyone looked toward him.

Hoa Van Phong hesitated before speaking.

"Duong Long was not born into the Fire Qilin Tribe. Many years ago, the previous Clan Head rescued him. After that, his cultivation rose very quickly, and he earned enough merit to gradually rise to the position of elder."

Lanh Hoa's gaze shifted slightly.

"I know that part."

Hoa Van Phong nodded.

"My father said Duong Long truly was powerful, but he didn't possess the orthodox Fire Qilin bloodline. After the previous Clan Head died, several elders wanted Duong Long to take control, but many others opposed it."

Hao Nhien asked:

"Because of the Fire Qilin Jade?"

"Yes."

Hoa Van Phong looked at him.

"My father said that the true successor of the Fire Qilin Tribe needed more than strength or the support of a few elders. The Fire Qilin Jade was the most important token of inheritance. Duong Long was never acknowledged by the Jade, so even after taking control within the tribe, many people never truly accepted him."

Lanh Hoa spoke slowly.

"Then the Fire Qilin Jade disappeared."

"Yes. That's why the older people in our group have always believed there were many things about what happened back then that were never explained."

Hao Nhien did not answer immediately.

What Luu Thai had left behind had pointed directly toward the internal conflict within the Fire Qilin Tribe and toward Duong Long. After being hunted, the old man had fled the Western Wastes with the Fire Qilin Jade, eventually reaching Third City and entrusting it to Lieu Thien Van so that a successor could be found.

But one question still had no complete answer.

When had Duong Long first become connected to the Heavenly Eye?

Had he truly entered the Fire Qilin Tribe merely as an injured outsider who happened to be rescued, or had there been another purpose behind his arrival?

Hao Nhien spoke slowly.

"I know part of what happened back then."

Everyone looked at him.

"Elder Luu Thai carried the Fire Qilin Jade out of the Western Wastes after the internal conflict. He was hunted along the way, but in the end, he still managed to bring the Jade to Third City."

Hoa Van Phong's expression changed.

"Elder Luu Thai?"

"He's dead."

Hao Nhien did not soften the words.

"But before he died, he left instructions that whoever was acknowledged by the Fire Qilin Jade had to return to the Western Wastes, restore the Fire Qilin Tribe, and investigate what happened with Duong Long."

Lanh Hoa and Luu Thanh remained silent.

Hoa Van Phong nearly stopped breathing.

Hao Nhien continued:

"I have reason to suspect that the death of the previous Clan Head was directly connected to Duong Long. Luu Thai witnessed enough that he had to flee with the Fire Qilin Jade, and he himself was hunted afterward. But whether Duong Long was already a member of the Heavenly Eye when he first entered the Fire Qilin Tribe is something I currently have no evidence to prove."

He looked at everyone.

"That connection may have formed later. Or it may have existed from the beginning. If we want the answer, we'll need to find more people who know what happened back then."

Luu Thanh gave a slight nod.

"That makes more sense. If Duong Long only wanted power inside the tribe, some of what happened could still be explained. But if the Heavenly Eye was behind him from the very beginning, then his goal may have been more than simply taking the position of Clan Head."

Hao Nhien looked at him.

"Exactly."

He lightly tapped the tabletop.

"The Fire Qilin Jade is something Duong Long never possessed. If he wants the entire tribe to acknowledge him, or if he wants to achieve some other goal connected to the inheritance, then he has to find it."

Lanh Hoa said in a low voice:

"Then the people who remained loyal to the old faction still have value to him. Some of them may know where the Fire Qilin Jade went."

"That's one possibility."

Hao Nhien did not draw any further conclusions.

Inside the small room, matters that had once seemed disconnected were beginning to form a pattern: Duong Long, Duong Quang, the Heavenly Eye, the Fire Qilin Jade, the old internal conflict, and the tribesmen now being driven to the edge. Hao Nhien still lacked enough evidence to say that everything was part of a single plan, but there were clearly connections between them that he could not ignore.

Hoa Van Phong stared at him for a long time.

"Young Master... then you are..."

He did not finish the question.

Hao Nhien understood.

He rose and touched the center of his brow.

A dark-red Fire Qilin mark slowly appeared.

The aura of the Fire Qilin Jade spread only faintly. There was no oppressive pressure, nor did it cause violent fluctuations in the spiritual power inside the room, but to those who had grown up within the Fire Qilin Tribe, that aura was far too familiar to mistake.

Hoa Van Phong shot to his feet.

Hoa Linh Nhi's eyes widened as well. Her already pale face showed such shock that for a moment she could not speak.

Lanh Hoa stood beside Hao Nhien, clasped his hands, and bowed his head.

"Clan Head."

Luu Thanh also lost all trace of his usual joking manner and gave a solemn salute.

Hoa Van Phong looked at the two of them, then back at the mark between Hao Nhien's brows. Only after several breaths did he seem to truly understand what he was seeing.

He dropped to one knee.

"You were acknowledged by the Fire Qilin Jade..."

Hoa Linh Nhi also tried to rise and salute. Hoa Van Phong hurried to support her, but the girl still insisted on bowing deeply.

"Greetings, Clan Head."

Hao Nhien did not stop them immediately. He allowed the two to finish their salute before speaking.

"The Fire Qilin Jade has acknowledged me, but the rite at the Fire Qilin Altar has not yet been completed. According to the traditions of the Fire Qilin Tribe, only after receiving the altar's recognition will I have fully completed the succession."

Hoa Van Phong raised his head.

"But the Jade chose you."

His voice had gone hoarse.

"For those of us who have been waiting for someone carrying the Fire Qilin Jade to return, that alone is enough for us to know whom we should follow."

Hoa Linh Nhi stood beside her brother, her eyes reddening once again. This time, the tears in them were different from those she had shed in the black market. There was no longer only fear and despair.

After months of hiding, losing family, lacking resources, and watching members of the tribe scatter just to survive, what had appeared before the two siblings was not a promise that everything would suddenly become easy.

But at the very least, for the first time in a long while, they could see a path that might lead the Fire Qilin Tribe back to itself.